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Friday, 12 April 2013

Recipe: Ginger spice cupcakes with stem ginger frosting

Ginger spice cupcakes with cream cheese & stem ginger frosting

If you saw my post on Monday (the ginger viennese rosettes), you'll know we were recently over-burdened with more root ginger than we could possibly eat in a sensible amount of time. So I cooked up a batch of stem ginger to make it last a little longer. Home made stem ginger is amazing - it has a fresh firey heat and a flavoursome syrup which would be a great addition to many desserts. So I thought it was time for a little more gingery recipe development - and made ginger spice cupcakes with stem ginger cream cheese icing. They are genuinely to. die. for.This recipe makes six ginger spice cupcakes, the cupcakes themselves are flavoured with ground ginger with a couple of spoons of chopped stem ginger and stem ginger syrup thrown in for good measure.For the six ginger spice cupcakes:120g self raising flour120g caster sugar120ml milk40ml rapeseed oil1 egg2tsp ground ginger2tsp stem ginger (finely sliced)2tsp stem ginger syrupFor the stem ginger:100g fresh ginger root8-10tbs caster sugar8-10tbs waterFor the cream cheese frosting:25g butter (softened)125g cream cheese (chilled)270g icing sugar2tsp stem ginger syrupTo top:3 - 4tsp stem ginger (finely sliced)3 - 4 tsp stem ginger syrup

Stem ginger cupcakes

To make the cakes:Pre-heat the oven to 170C (fan), line a cupcake tin with six paper cases.Separate the egg, using an electric mixer whip the egg white until it forms soft peaks.

Pour the sugar into the egg white while whisking on a slow setting.

Add the egg yolk, rapeseed oil and milk and continue to mix.

Sift in the self raising flour and ground ginger and mix into a smooth batter. Stir in the spoonfuls of stem ginger and the stem ginger syrup.Spoon the mixture into the six cupcake cases (there should be approximately 5mm space at the top of each case).

Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes. Check if the cakes are done by gently pressing down on the top with your index finger, if the sponge springs back they are ready.

Remove the cakes from the baking tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the stem ginger:Peel the ginger root and chop into little cubes approximately 5mm x 5mm. Place it in a small saucepan and cover completely with cold water. Bring to the boil for approximately 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and drain the water.Add equal parts of sugar and water to the saucepan (use the measurements above as a guide) - the ginger will need to be just covered in the pan. Return to the heat and use a sugar thermometer to measure the temperature as it heats. Heat until it's 150C (jam temperature), then remove from the heat and allow to cool.To make the ginger cream cheese frosting:

Beat the butter with a spoon until it's soft and fluffy, then beat in the cream cheese.

Add the stem ginger syrup and sift in the icing sugar until the mixture is a smooth piping consistency. If the icing is too runny, add a little more icing sugar.

Prepare a piping bag with a large star nozzle and pipe a classic swirl on top of each cupcake.

To finish, drizzle a little of the syrup over the top of each cupcake and sprinkle with finely sliced stem ginger - and enjoy :)